The present invention relates to a shield connector for equipment.
Conventionally, for a shield connector for equipment which is used to connect a plurality of electric wires to an inverter apparatus disposed in an electric car, there is available a structure in which a plurality of connecting holes are opened up in a conductive shield case, a plurality of equipment-side terminals fixed to an inverter apparatus are disposed so as to correspond to the connecting holes of the shield case, wire-side terminals respectively fixed to their associated ones of the electric wires are individually inserted into the connecting holes and are thereby connected to the equipment-side terminals, the plurality of wires are collectively enclosed by a tube-shaped shield member, and a shield shell fixed to the end portion of the shield member is connected to the shield case.
In the conventional connector of this collective-shield type, to insert the plurality of wire-side terminals individually into their associated connecting holes to thereby connect the wire-side terminals to the equipment-side terminals, there is necessary such means as can prevent the wire-side and equipment-side terminals from being connected together in a wrong combination.
Conventionally, as the wrong connection preventive means, there is proposed means in which holders each having a mounting portion formed integrally and projectingly in the outer periphery thereof are respectively fitted with the outer surfaces of the wire-side terminals by resin molding. According to the present wrong connection preventive means, in case where the positions of the mounting portions in the peripheral direction of the holders are set different from one another between the holders, the wrong connection can be prevented.
However, as in the above-mentioned conventional shield connector manufacturing method in which the holder and its associated mounting portion are molded as an integral unit using a single metal mold, as the metal molds for resin molding, there are necessary metal molds equal in number to the poles of a terminal. Here, in an electric car, the number of terminal poles must be three or more and, therefore, there are necessary three or more kinds of metal molds. This raises a problem that the costs of the metal molds are high.
The present invention aims at eliminating the drawbacks found in the conventional shield connector for equipment. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention which can reduce the costs of metal molds.
In attaining the above object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a shield connector for equipment including a shield case for enclosing a plurality of equipment-side terminals, the shield case having a plurality of connecting holes corresponding to the equipment-side terminals and fixing portions accompanying the connecting holes, the shield connector for equipment comprising: a shield member for enclosing a plurality of wires collectively; a shield shell fixed to the end portion of the shield member and mountable onto the shield case; a plurality of wire-side terminals fixed individually to the end portions of the plurality of wires and connectable to the equipment-side terminals; and, a plurality of holders fitted individually with the outer surfaces of the wire-side terminals by resin molding, fittable with the connecting holes, and including mounting means provided on and projected from the outer periphery thereof, the present mounting means being mountable onto the fixing portions, wherein the positions of the mounting means of the holders in the peripheral direction thereof are set different from one another between the holders, thereby preventing the wire-side terminals and equipment-side terminals from being connected together in wrong combinations, characterized in that the holders and mounting means are molded as separate parts and the mounting means can be fitted with the outer surfaces of the holders, and also that, in the outer peripheries of the holders and in the inner peripheries of the mounting means, there are disposed positioning means capable of positioning the mounting means with respect to the holders at an arbitrary one of a plurality of mounting positions respectively set in the peripheral direction of the holders.
Also, according to a second aspect of the invention, in a shield connector as set forth in the first aspect of the invention, the positioning means include a plurality of projecting portions formed in one of the outer peripheries of the holders and the inner peripheries of the mounting means and a plurality of recessed portions formed in the other.
Further, according to a third aspect of the invention, in a shield connector as set forth in the first or second aspect of the invention, in each of the outer peripheries of the holders, there are disposed not only a stopper, when contacted with the mounting means fitted with the outer surface of the holder up to a proper fit position in the axial direction thereof, for preventing the mounting means from moving any further, but also a removal preventive projection allowing the mounting means to be fitted therewith up to the proper fit position while it is elastically flexing so as to increase in diameter and, at the proper fit position, securing the mounting means thereto to thereby prevent the mounting means from moving any further in the removing direction thereof.
(First Aspect)
Since the mounting means can be positioned with respect to the holders at anyone of a plurality of positions respectively set in the peripheral direction of the holders, in case where the peripheral-direction positions of the mounting means are set different from one another between the holders, wrong connection between the equipment- and wire-side terminals (which means that the holders are fitted with the wrong or incorrect connecting holes) can be prevented. According to the first aspect of the invention, because the holders and mounting means can be respectively formed as common parts, as metal molds for molding a shield connector for equipment according to the first aspect of the invention, there are necessary only two kinds of metal molds: that is, one for resin molding the holders and the other for molding the mounting means.
(Second Aspect)
In case where any one of the plurality of recessed portions is fitted with the projecting portion, the mounting means can be positioned with respect to the holder. The mutual engagement between the projecting portions and recessed portions is able to prevent the mounting means from playing with respect to the holders in the peripheral direction thereof, thereby being able to secure high reliability in the positioning of the mounting means.
(Third Aspect)
In the process for fitting the mounting means with the holder, the mounting means is allowed to be fitted with the removal preventive projection while it is elastically flexing so as to increase in diameter and reach its proper fit position and, when the mounting means reaches the proper fit position, the engagement between the stopper and removal preventive projection can prevent the mounting means against play with respect to the holder in the axial direction thereof.